Business

7:42 pm

Tue February 5, 2013

Austin Airport Breaks Passenger Record in 2012

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport saw more passengers last year than it ever has before. About 9.4 million people departed from or arrived to the airport in 2012. That was a four percent increase from 2011.

ABIA added more non-stop flights last year, including service to Washington D.C., Portland, and Philadelphia. And 200,000 people came through for the Formula One race in November.

But officials say they don’t expect to see the same gains in 2013.

“In planning, we don’t think the growth is going to be quite as robust as it has been in past years," Airport spokesperson Jim Halbrook said. "When you set a record this high, it’s really hard to push that bar up any higher.”

ABIA opened a temporary fourth security checkpoint last year. Work will begin later this year on an addition that will create eight more security lanes. Those aren’t expected to be completed until 2015.